I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2898 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to designate a week as ‘‘Buddy 

Check Week’’ for the purpose of outreach and education concerning 

peer wellness checks for veterans, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 22, 2019 

Ms. JACKSON LEE (for herself, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. BROWN of 

Maryland, Mr. KATKO, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. LEWIS, and Mr. BANKS) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to designate 

a week as ‘‘Buddy Check Week’’ for the purpose of 

outreach and education concerning peer wellness checks 

for veterans, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF BUDDY CHECK WEEK BY DE4 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

6 shall designate one week per year to organize outreach 

7 events and educate veterans on how to conduct peer 


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1 wellness checks, which shall be known as ‘‘Buddy Check 

2 Week’’. 

3 (b) EVENTS AND EDUCATION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—During Buddy Check Week, 

5 the Secretary, in consultation with organizations 

6 that represent veterans, non-profits that serve vet7 erans, mental health experts, members of the Armed 

8 Forces, and such other entities and individuals as 

9 the Secretary considers appropriate, shall collaborate 

10 with organizations that represent veterans to provide 

11 educational opportunities for veterans to learn how 

12 to conduct peer wellness checks. 

13 (2) TRAINING MATTERS.—As part of the edu14 cational opportunities provided under paragraph (1), 

15 the Secretary shall provide the following: 

16 (A) A script for veterans to use to conduct 

17 peer wellness checks that includes information 

18 on appropriate referrals to resources veterans 

19 might need. 

20 (B) Online and in-person training, as ap21 propriate, on how to conduct a peer wellness 

22 check. 

23 (C) Opportunities for members of organi24 zations that represent veterans to learn how to 


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1 train individuals to conduct peer wellness 

2 checks. 

3 (D) Training for veterans participating in 

4 Buddy Check Week on how to transfer a phone 

5 call directly to the Veterans Crisis Line. 

6 (E) Resiliency training for veterans partici7 pating in Buddy Check Week on handling a vet8 eran in crisis. 

9 (3) ONLINE MATERIALS.—All training materials 

10 provided under the educational opportunities under 

11 paragraph (1) shall be made available on a website 

12 of the Department. 

13 (c) OUTREACH.—The Secretary, in collaboration with 

14 organizations that represent veterans, may conduct out15 reach regarding educational opportunities under sub16 section (b) at— 

17 (1) public events where many veterans are ex18 pected to congregate; 

19 (2) meetings of organizations that represent 

20 veterans; 

21 (3) facilities of the Department of Veterans Af22 fairs; and 

23 (4) such other locations as the Secretary, in col24 laboration with organizations that represent vet25 erans, considers appropriate. 


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1 (d) VETERANS CRISIS LINE PLAN.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure 

3 that the Veterans Crisis Line has a plan for han4 dling the potential increase of calls that may occur 

5 during Buddy Check Week. 

6 (2) SUBMITTAL OF PLAN.—The head of the 

7 Veterans Crisis Line shall submit to the Secretary a 

8 plan for how to handle excess calls during Buddy 

9 Check Week, which may include the following: 

10 (A) Additional hours for staff. 

11 (B) The use of a backup call center. 

12 (C) Any other plan to ensure that calls 

13 from veterans in crisis are being answered in a 

14 timely manner by an individual trained at the 

15 same level as a Veterans Crisis Line responder. 

16 (e) VETERANS CRISIS LINE DEFINED.—In this sec17 tion, the term ‘‘Veterans Crisis Line’’ means the toll-free 

18 hotline for veterans established under section 1720F(h) of 

19 title 38, United States Code. 

Æ 


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